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In a week at the State Capitol dominated by debate on gun reform
initiatives, several Republican Lawmakers are pushing for a fair hearing on
bills they stress would help keep our communities safe while also protecting
the rights of law abiding gun owners.

“We need to pass legislation that focuses on solving the
problem, not punishing tens of thousands of

law-abiding gun owners in Illinois;
and if Democrats will work with us on common-sense gun safety reforms we can do
that,” said Representative Grant Wehrli (R-Naperville).

Representative Wehrli was joined today at a Capitol press
conference by Representative Barbara Wheeler (R-Crystal Lake) and other members
of the House Republican Caucus to highlight gun safety reforms they will work
to enact, including:

HB
4120 - This legislation
makes it illegal in the State of Illinois to sell, manufacture, or possess
bump-fire stocks, which is a device attachment for a semiautomatic rifle
that allows it to fire faster, operating similarly to a fully automatic
rifle.

·HB
4218 & HB
4855 – The Illinois FOID Card Act requires hospitals to report mental
health admissions to DHS, who in turn provide the information to the State
Police. Current information from DHS suggestion some hospitals are failing to
report admissions, and there is currently little recourse in the law to compel
compliance with the reporting requirement. These pieces of legislation update
the reporting requirement to ensure compliance and prevent firearm access for
those considered a danger to themselves or others.

·HB
4904 – This legislation updates the rules for sales at licensed gun
shops and provides for video surveillance and a notification system to assist
law enforcement in the case of a break-in.

·HB
5475 – This legislation increases the penalties for unlawful possession
of a machine gun.

“The recent shooting in Florida is another clear
example that we cannot keep delaying action to address the link between mental
health and gun violence,” said Rep. Wheeler. “One life lost because of a
failure to report a mental health problem or because a firearm was
unnecessarily modified is one too many; we need to close the gaps in our system
immediately.”

“The tragedies we are seeing all too often cannot be solved
with just increased firearm regulation.The conversation on how we keep people safe must include better mental
health screening, stiffer sentencing for crimes committed with guns and how we
can improve security measures in public areas such as schools,” Rep. Wehrli
said.

Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan's obsession with power has been well-documented throughout the years. But the recent news of how he handled sexual harassment allegations within his organization illustrates perfectly the Madigan playbook: punish those who dare to cross him, protect those who are willing to kiss the ring and sweep issues under the rug...

In his State of the State speech Wednesday Governor Bruce Rauner singled out for praise new legislation introduced by State Representative Grant Wehrli to help protect property taxpayers from legislators’ conflicts of interest that may negatively impact their tax bills. Representative Wehrli has introduced House Bill 4435 that will prevent members of the General Assembly who make decisions on legislation that impacts property tax rates from also representing clients before a property tax appeals board in Illinois.

“Any legislator who is also a property tax appeals attorney has a vested interest in keeping property taxes high enough to generate appeals cases for his or her law firm. In my opinion, that’s a clear conflict of interest that hurts the very working families we were elected to represent and it needs to stop,” Representative Wehrli said.

“Two weeks ago, we issued an executive order that prevents legislators from practicing before the state property tax appeal board. And today Senator Oberweis and Representative Wehrli will introduce legislation that asks you to apply this same reform to every legislator who might practice before an assessment appeal board anywhere in the state,” Governor Rauner remarked in his speech to a joint session of the General Assembly.

“It’s long past time for this General Assembly to truly put the taxpayers first, and that will continue to be my priority in Springfield this year,” Representative Wehrli said.

Representative Wehrli said he will be working with members on both sides of the aisle to begin moving House Bill 4435 through the committee process in the House in the coming weeks so that it may receive a fair hearing on the House floor this spring.

Recent reports that incidents of sexual harassment in the Illinois General Assembly are not promptly investigated, or are not even reported due to fear of retaliation, are proof that the legislative ethics review system is in need of a complete overhaul, stressed State Representative Grant Wehrli. Wehrli, along with Representatives Keith Wheeler and Mark Batinick, today introduced a series of reforms that will give deference to complainants in such cases, and ensure their claims receive a fair and unbiased review.

“I’m very pleased that after more than a year we finally have a Legislative Inspector General in place this week. I’m confident Julie Porter will do an excellent job. But there’s more we must do to correct the fundamental flaws in the process that for years have made harassment victims hesitant to come forward because they felt the system was stacked against them. It’s that bias that we’re targeting with these reforms,” said Rep. Wehrli (R-Naperville).

“This week’s testimony in the House Personnel and Pensions Committee detailing accounts of sexual
harassment in state government was enlightening, and it left me feeling both angry and sad. Sexual harassment in any form must not be tolerated – ever. I applaud victims for coming forward and speaking out. Moving forward, we must have a clear procedure in place where they, and those who witness the harassment, can immediately report the incident without fear for their safety or their livelihood.

I was glad to hear Speaker Madigan agree that we also need to promptly fill the position of Legislative Inspector General that has been vacant for several years. Witnesses testified that without an Inspector General in place, they didn’t know where to go to report what had happened to them.”